Athletic clothing with sting reduction padding

ABSTRACT

An article of athletic clothing is provided with at least one sting reducing multilayer laminate pad. Preferably the laminate pad comprises an inner layer made of vibration damping material such as an elastomeric material and preferably silicone gel. The pad also includes a layer of force dissipating stiffening material as an intermediate layer located outwardly of the inner layer of vibration damping material. The pad also includes an outermost cover layer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] When individuals participate in various athletic activities it iscommon that parts of the individual's body are subject to impact.Various attempts have been made through the years to provide padding asa means of protecting the participants. Such padding is well known forvarious organized sports as well as for individual athletic activitiessuch as biking, skating, golfing, etc. The main thrust in the use ofsuch padding is to provide a sufficiently thick layer of paddingmaterial to cushion any impact. Such approaches, however, do not takeinto account the problems and discomfort that result from the stingproduced by such impact.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0002] An object of this invention is to provide a sting reductionpadding for various articles of athletic clothing.

[0003] In accordance with this invention a sting reducing laminate padis provided which includes a layer of vibration damping material thatwould preferably be located toward the user's body. A further layer offorce dissipating stiffening material would preferably be locatedagainst and outwardly of the vibration damping layer. An outer coverlayer would be located outwardly of the intermediate layer.

[0004] In a preferred practice of this invention the vibration dampingmaterial is a gel material such as a silicon gel. The layer of forcedissipating stiffening material is preferably an aramid material. Theouter cover layer could be made of any suitable material including avibration damping gel.

[0005] The sting reducing pad could be provided on various articles ofathletic clothing such as bands, gloves, hats/helmets and various otherconventional pads.

THE DRAWINGS

[0006]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a headband in accordance with thisinvention;

[0007]FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken through FIG. 1 along theline 2-2;

[0008] FIGS. 3-6 are plan views of various forms of force dissipatinglayers which can be used in the practices of this invention;

[0009]FIG. 7 is a side elevational view showing sting reducing pads inaccordance with this invention incorporated in a batting helmet;

[0010]FIG. 8 is a side elevational view partly broken away showing thepractice of the invention in the helmet of a cyclist;

[0011]FIG. 9 is a front elevational view showing the practice of theinvention in a baseball fielder's glove;

[0012]FIG. 10 is a front elevational view showing the practice of theinvention in an athlete's glove;

[0013]FIG. 11 is a front elevational view showing the practice of theinvention in a shirt or jersey;

[0014]FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken through FIG. 11 along theline 12-12;

[0015]FIG. 13 is a top plan view showing the practice of the inventionin a shoe pad; and

[0016]FIG. 14 is a side elevational view showing practices of theinvention at various portions of a pair of pants.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] The present invention is directed to sting reducing padding whichwould be incorporated in an article of athletic clothing. In general,the padding comprises a laminate of at least two layers. One layer ismade of vibration damping or vibration absorbing material which could beof the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,653,643 and 5,944,619, as wellas co-pending application Ser. No. 09/939,319, all of the details ofthese patents and the application are fully incorporated herein byreference thereto. Another layer of the sting reducing pad is made offorce dissipating stiffening material which could be an aramid materialsuch as Kevlar®. In the preferred practice of the invention thevibration damping material is located innermost so as to be closest tothe user's body. Preferably, a cover layer is provided as the outermostlayer of the laminate pad with the force dissipating stiffening layerbeing an intermediate layer.

[0018] FIGS. 1-2 show one practice of the invention. As illustratedtherein, a headband 10 is the article of athletic clothing. Headband 10would have a peripheral outer fabric layer 12 forming a hollow envelopewith the sting reducing pad 11 located within the fabric layer. Thesting reducing pad 11 includes an inner layer 14 made of vibrationdamping material with a very thin intermediate layer 16 made of forcedissipating stiffening material. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 anouter cover layer 18 is also provided which could be of any suitablematerial. A preferred material for outer layer 18 is also a vibrationdamping material. If desired, the laminate could include more than thethree illustrated layers. Thus, FIG. 2 shows a space 20 to schematicallyrepresent one or more additional layers. Such additional layers could befurther force dissipating layers and/or further vibration damping layersor layers provided for any other purpose such as foam layers to providea cushioning member.

[0019] As described in copending application Ser. No. 09/939,319 thevibration damping material of layer 14 could be a silicone gel such asused for caulking purposes or any other suitable gel such as a foamedgel. The material could have the appropriate hardness and vibrationdamping characteristics to function in cooperation with the other layersof the laminate to provide the desired sting reduction.

[0020] The intermediate layer 16 functions as a stiffening layer whichdissipates the forces from impact if the user should fall or be struckby an object. The intermediate layer 16 could achieve its functionswhile being relatively thin as compared to the thicker vibration dampinglayer 14 and could also be substantially thinner than the outer coverlayer 18. The intermediate layer 16 apparently functions tolongitudinally spread the vibration resulting from impact forces. Thelinear spread of the vibration causes a rebound effect which dampens thevibration.

[0021] FIGS. 3-6 show various possible forms that the intermediate forcedissipating layer 16 can take. As shown in FIG. 3 the force dissipatingstiffening layer 16A is in the form of a generally imperforate sheet.FIG. 4 illustrates a force dissipating layer 16B to be in the form of ascrim or an open mesh sheet made from, for example, Kevlar® fibers. FIG.5 illustrates a variation where the force dissipating layer 16C isformed of a plurality of individual strips 22 which are parallel to eachother and generally identical to each other in length and thickness aswell as spacing. FIG. 6 shows a variation where the force dissipatinglayer 16D is made of individual strips 24 of different sizes and whichcould be disposed in a more random fashion regarding their orientation.Although all of the strips 24 are illustrated in FIG. 6 as beingparallel, non-parallel arrangements could also be used.

[0022] The effect of a laminate in accordance with this invention asregards sting reduction is described in co-pending application Ser. No.09/939,319 with regard to tests performed on baseball bats. Suchlaboratory tests were carried out at a prominent university to evaluatevarious grips mounted on baseball bats. In the testing, baseball batswith various grips were suspended from the ceiling by a thin thread;this achieves almost a free boundary condition that is needed todetermine the true characteristics of the bats. Two standard industrialaccelerometers were mounted on a specially fabricated sleeve roughly inpositions where the left hand and the right hand would grip the bat. Aknown force was delivered to the bat with a standard calibrated impacthammer at three positions, one corresponding to the sweet spot, theother two simulating “miss hits” located on the mid-point and shaft ofthe bat. The time history of the force as well as the accelerations wererouted through a signal conditioning device and were connected to a dataacquisition device. This was connected to a computer which was used tolog the data.

[0023] Two series of tests were conducted. In the first test, a controlbat (with a standard rubber grip, WORTH Bat—model #C405) was compared toidentical bats with several “Sting-Free” grips representing practices ofthe invention. These “Sting-Free” grips were comprised of two layers ofpure silicone with various types of Kevlar® inserted between the twolayers of silicone. The types of Kevlar® used in this test werereferenced as follows: “005”, “645”, “120”, “909”. Also, a bat with justa thick layer of silicone but no Kevlar® was tested. With the exceptionof the thick silicone (which was deemed impractical because of theexcessive thickness), the “645” bat showed the best reduction invibration magnitudes.

[0024] The second series of tests were conducted using EASTON Bats(model #BK8) with the “645” Kevlar® in different combinations withsilicone layers: The first bat tested was comprised of one bottom layerof silicone with a middle layer of the “645” Kevlar® and one top layerof silicone referred to as “111”. The second bat test was comprised oftwo bottom layers of silicone with a middle layer of Kevlar® and one toplayer of silicone referred to as “211”. The third bat tested wascomprised of one bottom layer of silicone with a middle layer of Kevlar®and two top layers of silicone referred to as “112”. The “645” bat withthe “111” configuration showed the best reduction in vibrationmagnitudes.

[0025] In order to quantify the effect of this vibration reduction, twocriteria were defined: (I) the time it takes for the vibration todissipate to an imperceptible value; and, (2) the magnitude of vibrationin the range of frequencies at which the human hand is most sensitive.

[0026] The sting-free grips reduced the vibration in the baseball batsby both quantitative measures. In particular, the “645” Kevlar® in a“111” configuration was the best in vibration reduction. In the case ofa baseball bat, the “645” reduced the bat*s vibration in about ⅕ thetime it took the control rubber grip to do so. The reduction in peakmagnitude of vibration ranged from 60% to 80%, depending on the impactlocation and magnitude.

[0027] It was concluded that the “645” Kevlar® grip in a “111”combination reduces the magnitude of sensible vibration by 80% that isinduced in a baseball bat when a player hits a ball with it. This wasfound to be true for a variety of impacts at different locations alongthe length of the bat. Hence, a person using the “Sting-Free” grips ofthe invention would clearly experience a considerable reduction in thesting effect (pain) when using the “Sting-free” grip than one would witha standard grip.

[0028] In view of the above tests a particularly preferred practice ofthe invention involves a multilayer laminate having an aramid such asKevlar®, sandwiched between layers of pure silicone. The above indicatedtests show dramatic results with this embodiment of the invention. Asalso indicated above, however, the laminate could comprise othercombinations of layers such as a plurality of inner layers of siliconeor a plurality of outer layers of silicone. Other variations include arepetitive laminate assembly wherein a vibration damping layer isinnermost with a force dissipating layer against the inner vibrationdamping layer and then with a second vibration damping layer against theforce dissipating layer followed by a second force dissipating layer,etc. with the final laminate layer being a cover layer which could alsobe made of vibration damping material. Among the considerations indetermining which laminate should be used would be the thicknesslimitations and the desired vibration damping properties.

[0029] The various layers could have different relative thicknesses.Preferably, the vibration damping layer, such as layer 14, would be thethickest of the layers. The outermost cover layer, however, could be ofthe same thickness as the vibration damping layer, such as layer 18shown in FIG. 2 or could be a thinner layer. A particularly advantageousfeature of the invention where a force dissipating stiffening layer isused is that the force dissipating layer could be very thin and stillachieve its intended results. Thus, the force dissipating layer wouldpreferably be the thinnest of the layers, although it might be ofgenerally the same thickness as the outer cover layer. If desired thelaminate could also include a plurality of vibration damping layers(such as thin layers of gel material) and/or a plurality of stiffeningforce dissipating layers. Where such plural layers are used, the variouslayers could differ in the thickness from each other.

[0030] In a preferred practice of the invention, a force dissipatingstiffening layer is provided as an intermediate layer of a multilayerlaminate where there is at least one inner layer of vibration dampingmaterial and an outer layer of cover material with the possibility ofadditional layers of vibration damping material and force dissipatinglayers of various thickness. As noted the force dissipating layer,however, could be innermost. The invention may also be practiced wherethe laminate includes one or more layers in addition to the cover layerand the stiffening layer and the vibration damping layer. Suchadditional layer(s) could be incorporated at any location in thelaminate, depending on its intended function (e.g., an adhesive layer, acushioning layer, a low friction layer, etc.).

[0031] A preferred practice of this invention is to incorporate a forcedissipating layer, particularly an aramid, such as Kevlar® fiber, or asuitable fiberglass material, into a composite with at least twoelastomer layers. One elastomer layer would function as a vibrationdamping material and the other outer elastomer layer which wouldfunction as a cover layer. The outer elastomer layer could also be avibration damping material. Preferably, the outer layer completelycovers the composite.

[0032] There are an almost infinite number of possible uses for thecomposite or laminate of this invention. In accordance with the varioususes the elastomer layers may have different degrees of hardness,coefficient of friction and damping of vibration. Similarly, thethicknesses of the various layers could also vary in accordance with theintended use. Examples of ranges of hardness for the inner vibrationdamping layer and the outer cover layer (which may also be a vibrationabsorbing layer) are 5-70 Durometer Shore A. One of the layers may havea range of 5-20 Durometer Shore A and the other a range of 30-70Durometer Shore A for either of these layers. The vibration dampinglayer could have a hardness of less than 5, and could even be a 000Durometer reading. The vibration damping material could be a gel, suchas a silicone gel or a gel of any other suitable material. Thecoefficient of friction as determined by conventional measuringtechniques for the tacky and non-porous outer cover layer is preferablyat least 0.5 and may be in the range of 0.6-1.5. A more preferred rangeis 0.7-1.2 with a still more preferred range being about 0.8-1. Theouter cover layer, when also used as a vibration damping layer, couldhave the same thickness as the inner layer. When used solely as a coverlayer the thickness could be generally the same as the intermediatelayer, which might be about {fraction (1/20)} to ¼ of the thickness ofthe vibration damping layer.

[0033] The sting reducing pad 11 of this invention could be incorporatedin various articles of athletic clothing and could be incorporated invarious manners within a particular article of clothing. FIG. 1, forexample, illustrates the headband 10 to have the pad or laminate 11 bein the form of a strip wherein a gap 26 is left between the free ends28,28 of the laminate 11. The gap 26 would permit the headband 10 to beadjustable in circumference for snugly and comfortably fitting on theuser's head by providing an open area for expansion and contraction toconform to the size of the particular user. If desired, the laminate 11could be in the form of spaced pads located at different spacedlocations within the fabric cover 12. For example, it might besufficient to provide the laminate 11 solely in the temple areas and/orin the forehead area of the headband.

[0034] While the outer cover layer 18 could be made of a materialsimilar to the vibration damping material of layer 14, in variouspractices of the invention the outer cover layer could be made of a lowfriction slippery material to facilitate inserting the pad 11 intoproper position on the article of athletic clothing. If desired, a thinslippery layer could also be provided as the innermost layer so that thepad 11 would have slippery layers on both sides and could be easilyinserted into and moved when necessary within the outer fabric 12 ofheadband 10. Thus, the layer 20 illustrated in FIG. 2 may incorporate afurther layer having low friction characteristics.

[0035] While FIG. 1 illustrates the practice of the invention in aheadband 10, it is also to be understood that essentially the samestructure could be used for other forms of bands such as worn on thewrist, legs and arms. A particular advantage of incorporating thelaminate 11 in a band, such as headband 10, is that it would lend itselfto more ready acceptance by users, particularly children who wouldprefer to avoid wearing large cumbersome protective equipment orpadding.

[0036] Although FIG. 1 shows the headband 10 to be a continuous endlessflexible loop, it is to be understood that the invention could beincorporated in a headband or visor where the headband or visor does notextend completely around the head 360°. Instead the headband or visorcould be made of a stiff springy material having a pair of spaced freeends.

[0037] FIGS. 7-8 illustrate the incorporation of various sting reducingpads in different types of headwear. FIG. 7, for example, shows abaseball batting helmet 30 having a plurality of pads 11 mounted todifferent portions of the inner surface of helmet 30. These include pads11A which would be located generally at the temple and ears on each sideof the helmet 30. A forehead pad 11B is located above the brim of helmet30. A neck pad 11C is located opposite the brim and a top pad 11D islocated at the top of the helmet 30 at its inner surface. Each of thesepads could be suitably dimensioned for providing the desired stingreduction characteristics.

[0038]FIG. 8 illustrates a cyclist helmet 32 wherein a pad 11 is locatedon the inner surface of helmet 32. The pad 11 could be provided in aplurality of segments at different locations of the inner surface orcould be a single pad covering substantially the entire inner surface.In such later case, however, it would be preferable for the pad 11 toinclude cutouts aligned with the air circulation openings 34 of helmet32.

[0039] FIGS. 7-8 are included merely to exemplify different forms ofheadwear which could include sting reducing pads. It is to be understoodthat the invention may be practiced with other types of caps, helmets orheadwear such as football helmets, hockey helmets, baseball caps,golfer's caps and the like. Thus the pad could be a liner for a hardhelmet or shell or for a soft cap. The pad could be in asweatband/headband such as for a soccer player. Thus, when the playeruses the head to strike the soccer ball the sting from the impact wouldbe minimized.

[0040] FIGS. 9-10 illustrate practices of the invention wherein thesting reducing laminate padding is used in various handwear. FIG. 9, forexample, shows a baseball fielder's glove 36 which could be of generallyconventional construction and could include padding, but would alsoinclude a pad 11 in the palm section preferably located directly againstthe outer leather layer of the glove where the ball would be caught.While the pad 11 may cover the entire palm area, it is preferred thatpad 11 be ring shaped as illustrated in FIG. 9 so as to leave thecentral portion of the palm area thinner thereby giving the user abetter feel for the ball.

[0041] The laminate could also be included in other types of baseballgloves, such as catcher's mitts or first baseman's mitts. When the pad11 is used in a catcher's mitt there would be the additional benefit ofutilizing a pad such as pad 11 in that the pad could be made relativelythin thereby not interfering with the feel in the catcher's use of themitt.

[0042] The pads 11 may be incorporated in the gloves and in the otherarticles of athletic clothing in any suitable manner. FIG. 9, forexample, shows the pad 11 secured to the glove 36 by lacing 37. Otherforms of attachment could include stitching or adhesive attachments. Thetackiness of an outer silicone gel layer in the pad could also beutilized to secure the pad in place.

[0043]FIG. 10 illustrates an athletic glove 38 which incorporates one ormore sting reducing pads 11. Athletic glove 38 may be of the type usedby a cyclist wherein the glove is fingerless or at least exposes enoughof the fingers to still permit the user's hands to properly grasp thehandlebars. The glove is usually thin and usually not thickly padded. Asillustrated in FIG. 10 the pads 11,11 are located over the ulnar andmedian nerves.

[0044] Other forms of athletic gloves which could incorporate stingreducing pads of this invention could be the types of gloves worn bygolfers, football players, baseball batters and the like. Sting reducingpads could also be used for otherwise ordinary gloves worn for warmth orvarious covering purposes, such as in shoveling or in the use of tools,such as jack hammers. Further types of athletic gloves which mayincorporate the sting reducing pads could include other types ofhandwear worn for other types of activities.

[0045] The sting reducing pads could be incorporated in other types ofequipment such as articles of clothing worn by athletes, particularly bybeing incorporated in the jerseys or shirts of an athlete such as asoccer player or football player. FIGS. 11-12 show a uniqueincorporation of the sting reducing pad 11 in a shirt or jersey 40wherein a layer of the jersey 40 itself forms part of the laminate.Thus, as shown therein, the pad 11 includes an inner layer 14 whichwould be disposed toward the user's body with the intermediate forcedissipating layer 16 secured to the fabric of jersey 40. An outer layer18 is located directly against jersey 40 in line with layers 14 and 16.Where outer cover layer 18 is made of a tacky material such as asilicone gel which could be used as a further vibration dampingmaterial. The portion of the jersey 40 incorporating the laminate 18would thereby be somewhat tacky. This could have an advantage in varioussports, such as for a soccer goalie or a football receiver. Thetackiness created on the outer surface of jersey 40 (as a result oflayer 18) could tend to prevent a ball from bouncing off the jersey andthus facilitate the wearer of the jersey better grasping the ball.

[0046] When incorporated in a shirt or jersey article of clothing thesting reducing pad 11 could be placed at any desired location.Preferably, however, the pad is located in the rib area as illustratedin FIG. 11.

[0047] Although FIGS. 11-12 show the pad 11 as comprising amulti-laminate wherein one of the layers of the laminate is the jersey40 itself, it is to be understood that the invention could be practicedwhere the pad is simply secured to the jersey either on the outside orinside of the jersey without incorporating the jersey itself as a layerof the pad. When used on the inside of the jersey it would not benecessary to have an outer layer made of tacky material unless such isdesired for the vibration damping characteristics of the layer.

[0048]FIG. 13 illustrates yet another variation of the invention whereinthe sting reducing pad would be incorporated as part of a pad 42incorporated within or comprising the entire inner sole to be worninside a shoe, sneaker, skate or other footwear. Where used as afootwear insert, the pad could be above the sole and heel portion sothat the foot would be on and against the pad.

[0049] The invention could also be practiced where the sting reducingpad is incorporated in footwear at locations other than directly belowthe foot. For example, the sting reducing pad could be placed as part ofthe footwear itself above the sole along the sides and/or front and/orheel and/or top of the footwear to protect other parts of the foot.Thus, when incorporated in a hockey skate, pad 11 would reduce stingfrom the player's skate being hit by a puck. Pad 11 would also reducesting from a ball being fouled off a baseball batter's foot or fromother athletes being stepped on such as from spikes or cleats or simplybeing stepped on or hit, etc.

[0050]FIG. 14 is included to exemplify the practices of the inventionwherein the sting reducing laminate pad could be incorporated as part ofvarious conventional pads used for many different athletic activities.As shown therein, a pair of athletic pants 44 is illustrated asincorporating a plurality of sting reducing pads 11E, 11F and 11G. Pad11E could be mounted to a hip pad wherein the laminate is secured, forexample, to the inside surface of the pad so as to be disposed towardthe body of the user. Pad 11F is mounted to a thigh pad, while pad 11Gis mounted to a buttocks pad. Other possible protective pads that couldinclude the sting reducing laminate are shoulder pads, shin pads, kneepads, chest protectors, elbow pads, etc. Alternatively, the laminate 11could itself be the actual pad.

[0051] The pads could be incorporated as part of a soft structure, suchas gloves, headbands, etc. or parts of a hard structure such as battinghelmets, motorcycle helmets, football helmets, etc. Preferably, the padcomprises at least three layers with the vibration damping layerinnermost and with the force dissipating stiffening layer as anintermediate layer. In the preferred practice of the invention the forcedissipating layer should have a layer on each side thereof so as tomaximize the force dissipation. The pad could be located so as to bewhere there would likely be the contact or impact on the user. The padcould be an insert in the article of clothing where a fabric layer orother normal layer in an article of clothing is disposed against thebody of the user and with the article of clothing having an outer layerso that the pad is between the inner and outer layers of the article ofclothing. Alternatively, the pad could be mounted directly to theoutside surface of the article of clothing or directly to the insidesurface.

[0052] While the invention has been described with regard to particulartypes of articles of athletic clothing, such specific examples are notintended to be limiting. Broadly, the invention could be used with sucharticles of clothing in groups of different types, namely: (1) differentbands such as headbands, wristbands, arm bands, etc.; (2) differenttypes of headwear such as hats, caps and helmets; (3) different types ofhandwear such as gloves, mitts, ; (4) various body pads such as shoulderpads, hip pads, shin pads, etc.; (5) with footwear such as part of orbeing an insert for a sneaker, skate, or shoe and (6) as part of a shirtor pants.

What is claimed is:
 1. In an article of athletic clothing having asurface to be disposed toward a user's body when the clothing is worn bythe user and an outer surface outwardly of said inner surface, theimprovement being in a sting reducing multilayer laminate pad mounted toat least one of said surfaces, said laminate pad comprising a layer ofvibration damping material, a layer of force dissipating stiffeningmaterial, and an outermost cover layer.
 2. The clothing of claim 1wherein said layer of vibration damping material is an inner layer, saidlayer of force dissipating stiffening material being an intermediatelayer located outwardly of said layer of vibration damping material, andsaid intermediate layer being substantially thinner than said innerlayer.
 3. The clothing of claim 2 wherein said vibration dampingmaterial is an elastomeric material, and said force dissipatingstiffening material being an aramid material.
 4. The clothing of claim 3wherein said outermost cover layer is made of a low friction material.5. The clothing of claim 4 including a layer of low friction materialdisposed inwardly of said inner layer of vibration damping material. 6.The clothing of claim 3 wherein said outermost cover layer is made ofvibration damping material.
 7. The clothing of claim 6 wherein saidvibration damping material is a silicone gel.
 8. The clothing of claim 3wherein said article of said athletic clothing is an endless band. 9.The clothing of claim 8 wherein said band is a stretchable headband madeof a fabric forming an endless envelope, said sting reducing laminatepad being inserted in said envelope, and said sting reducing laminatepad having at least one gap formed therein.
 10. The clothing of claim 3wherein said article of clothing is headwear.
 11. The clothing of claim10 wherein said headwear is a rigid helmet, and said sting reducinglaminate pad being secured to an inner surface of said helmet.
 12. Theclothing of claim 11 wherein there are a plurality of said stingreducing laminate pads secured to said inner surface of said helmet. 13.The clothing of claim 3 wherein said article of clothing is a body pad.14. The clothing of claim 13 including a jersey, and a plurality of bodypads being mounted to said jersey with at least some of said body padshaving a sting reducing laminate pad secured thereto.
 15. The clothingof claim 13 including a pants, and a plurality of body pads beingmounted to said pants with at least some of said body pads having asting reducing laminate pad secured thereto.
 16. The clothing of claim 3wherein said article of clothing is a jersey made of a fabric material,said inner layer and said intermediate layer being mounted inwardly ofsaid fabric material, and said outermost cover layer being mountedoutwardly of said fabric material whereby said fabric material comprisesa layer in said laminate pad.
 17. The clothing of claim 16 wherein saidoutermost cover layer is made of a tacky material.
 18. The clothing ofclaim 3 wherein said article of clothing is hand wear.
 19. The clothingof claim 18 wherein said hand wear is a padded baseball glove havinginner and outer members and having a palm portion, and said stingreducing laminate pad being located at said palm portion between saidinner and outer members.
 20. The clothing of claim 19 wherein said stingreducing laminate pad is made of ring shape whereby the central area ofsaid palm portion is free of said sting reducing laminate pad.
 21. Theclothing of claim 18 wherein said hand wear is a thin glove selectedfrom the group consisting of a batter's glove, a golf glove, a bikingglove and a football player's glove.
 22. The clothing of claim 3 whereinsaid article of clothing is footwear, and said sting reducing laminatepad being a detachable insert mounted in said footwear above the soleand heel portion of said footwear to be located below the user's foot.23. The clothing of claim 3 wherein said article of clothing isfootwear, and said sting reducing pad is incorporated as part of thefootwear above the sole of the footwear.
 24. The clothing of claim 1wherein said sting reducing laminate pad is a two layer laminate, andsaid cover layer also being said layer of vibration damping material.25. The clothing of claim 1 wherein said sting reducing laminate pad isa pad having more than three layers.
 26. The clothing of claim 1 whereinsaid band is a stretchable headband made of a fabric forming an endlessenvelope, said sting reducing laminate pad being inserted in saidenvelope, and said sting reducing laminate pad having at least one gapformed therein.
 27. The clothing of claim 1 wherein said article ofclothing is headwear.
 28. The clothing of claim 1 wherein said articleof clothing is a body pad.
 29. The clothing of claim 1 wherein saidarticle of clothing is hand wear.
 30. The clothing of claim 1 whereinsaid article of clothing is footwear, and said sting reducing laminatepad being a detachable insert mounted in said footwear above the soleand heel portion of said footwear to be located below the user's foot.31. The clothing of claim 1 wherein said article of clothing isfootwear, and said sting reducing pad is incorporated as part of thefootwear above the sole of the footwear.
 32. A sting reducing pad foruse in an article of athletic clothing, comprising a multilayerlaminate, said laminate having an inner layer made of a vibrationdamping elastomeric material, an intermediate layer made of a forcedissipating stiffening material, said force dissipating material beingan aramid material, an outer layer made of a vibration dampingelastomeric material, and said intermediate layer being substantiallythinner than said inner layer and said outer layer.
 33. The pad of claim30 wherein said elastomer material is a silicone gel.